The demand for flexible electrical circuits and circuit boards is increasing in the fields of electronics and computer engineering. Circuit boards have traditionally been rigid structures that use polymeric or epoxy-based material as the dielectric. Copper wiring or interconnect patterns are inscribed on the circuit boards using photolithography or electron beam lithography to obtain a desired wiring pattern. Using rigid circuit boards may not be desirable in all applications as they are inflexible and non-conformable and also due to the fixed volume occupied by such circuit boards.
In response to the problems associated with conventional rigid circuit boards, flexible circuit boards have been developed. One type of flexible circuit board that has been developed includes textiles-based circuit boards. Textiles-based circuit boards and the corresponding electrical circuits include both conductive fibers and nonconductive fibers. The conductive fibers can be used to interconnect electrical components to form an electrical circuit. A fabric-based electrical network can be incorporated into a garment and worn by the user. Such networks have applications in the fields of medicine, communications, electronics, automobiles, and space exploration. One recent application of fabric-based electrical networks is uniforms for military personnel.
One problem with fabric-based electrical networks is AC signal crosstalk between adjacent conductors. When conductors in fabric-based electrical networks are placed parallel and close to each other (though not in direct contact with each other), capacitive and inductive signal crosstalk between neighboring lines can occur. Such crosstalk leads to distortion of signals in neighboring lines that carry electrical signals. In addition, on quiet lines adjacent to a signal-carrying line, crosstalk can cause peaks or troughs due to the rise and fall and electrical signals on the signal-carrying line.
In light of these problems associated with conventional fabric-based electrical networks, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for improving signal integrity in fabric-based electrical circuits.